Check out Symbaloo. I wrote about it before here.
Now I'm going to go through again and give you step by step directions again on creating a webmix and then how to get the URL to make it a page accessible to anyone.
First, you'll need to have a Symbaloo account. It's free and easy. Just go to http://www.symbaloo.com and register.
Now that you've done that, follow the directions below.
1. Click "add a webmix" from the top of the screen.
2. Choose a name for your mix and hit "create my webmix"
3. To add tiles, hover over a blank tile and it will say "add tile". Click.
4. At the top of the screen you can type in the name to see if there is an existing tile. Popular sites will probably already have a tile made. If you can't find an existing tile, click "create your own tile".
5. This will bring you to a screen where you can put in the website for your tile. Choose how you would like the name to appear and check the box if you want the name to show up on the tile. Choose a background color and an icon for your tile. Then hit "create tile".
6. Now click and drag the tile to where you would like it to be located. You can always move tiles to new locations or delete them.
7. Once you have put all your tiles in you can access the webmix whenever you are logged in to Symbaloo. If you would like others to be able to access your webmix or to be able to save this specific webmix as your homepage on student computers you will want to hit "share".
8. Enter in the name and a description if you'd like. It's not necessary though. Click "share my webmix"
9. On the right side of the screen you will see your URL. Copy this address and share it wherever you need.
If you want it to be the homepage on student computers, go to the computer and log in as a student. Open Internet Explorer and type in the URL for your webmix. Then find the icon on the top toolbar that looks like a house. Click on it to make this Symbaloo webmix the homepage.
Now when students open Internet Explorer they will have the webmix right there. You can put common sites that they will access regularly all right there. You could also create a webmix with sites specific to topics you are working on right now. Change out the homepage as often as you'd like. If you are doing a research project, just have students type in the URL to get to a webmix you create of sites specific to the project. Since they aren't logged in and won't have an account, students won't be able to edit (read: delete or change) anything on the webmix. So it's safe for everyone to use!
You can check out the one I made for a 5th grade project here: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/explorers4
Online bookmarking websites are not new, but this one is fun looking and user friendly.
